Nicola Sturgeon vows to push ahead with Named Person policy

NICOLA Sturgeon has vowed to push ahead with controversial plans to appoint a so-called state guardian for every child in Scotland, despite critics claiming the legislation lies “in tatters”.

The Scottish Government’s flagship Named Person policy was stopped in its tracks on Wednesday after MSPs scrutinising the Bill refused to give their support until more information was made available.

Now opposition politicians have accused the Government of “lobbying” key witnesses giving evidence on the legislation – and demanded minutes from private meetings be published to discover exactly what was said.

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Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said notes and “attendee lists” from Government meetings with witnesses appearing at Holyrood’s education committee should be made public.

She said: “If there is nothing to hide, will the First Minister publish the minutes and the attendee lists of these private meetings with the committee witnesses so that we can all see what’s been going on?”

The Named Person policy – which would see a named adult, normally a teacher or health visitor, become responsible for the wellbeing of every child – suffered a blow when the Supreme Court ruled elements of it were unlawful in July.

And earlier this week, MSPs on the education committee rejected a personal plea from deputy first minister John Swinney to back the Bill, instead voting to withhold support until details of the rules set to be issued to teachers, health visitors and other named persons are published.

This could lead to a delay of at least another nine months, as the Government has previously said such detail will not become available until September 2018.

According to parliamentary rules, a law cannot proceed at Holyrood until the “lead committee” reports that it agrees the general principles.

Ms Davidson said the policy should now be ditched in order to find a “fresh solution” to help vulnerable children.

She said: “The SNP’s named person plans are in tatters. Everyone wants protection for vulnerable children but this is not the way to do it.

“It’s now clear that parliament has joined the public in no longer having confidence in these plans.

“We should focus resource on those who actually need it, rather than having blanket interference for every family in Scotland.

“The Scottish Conservatives are willing to get round the table and find a fresh solution to help and protect vulnerable youngsters.

“But first the SNP needs to ditch this broken plan, which has been ruled unlawful, and is hated by parents the length and breadth of the country.”

She added: “So far the only people that have benefited from this mess are the lawyers who have coined in over £800,000 in legal fees.”

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Ms Sturgeon said the Government would proceed with the plans “for the simple reason that they are in the best interest of children – particularly vulnerable children – across the country”.

She added: “Often when Ruth Davidson raises this issue she does so from a political perspective – that is her right. The Tories oppose named person in principle.

“But when we talk about it, we talk about it from the perspective of the protection of children. And I would submit that is the most important – indeed, the only consideration that should drive us.”

The First Minister said she was “disappointed” with the committee’s decision, but robustly defended the Government against any claims of lobbying.

A spokesman for Ms Sturgeon later said: “It was a fairly ludicrous inference that the Government shouldn’t be speaking to people who want to engage on the subject.

“I think the Government would be doing the wrong thing if we were not seeking to speak to interested parties in the way that we have.”

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